Grimm brothers' stories. Wilhelm Grimm Anniversary

Wilhelm Grimm was born on a day like today from 1786 en Berlin, a year and a little later than his brother Jacob. Together they compiled a unforgettable children's story series collected from oral tradition. Titles like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty o Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots o Hansel y Gretel they are part of the universal cultural imaginary. Today I talk a little about them and stories in general.

Tales above all

We live in times that are slightly soft for some things and too dark for others. But yesterday, today and tomorrow the tradition of telling stories will continue to accompany us. And it must be so. There are not nothing better to start explaining the world to a child and for him to learn to imagine and create them. They assume everything to learn universal concepts and feelings in their purest essence. They contrast the best with the worst, the most real with the most fantastic, the ideals with the realities. And above all show us our own dreams and others inspire us.

And they should be like that, without half measures. Today's eagerness to want to change, soften or qualify concepts based on that boring and often as sinister as ridiculous political correctness who intends to fold everything to convenience has also wanted or wants to achieve them. I hope I do not succeed and the wolves are still terrible wolves that eat girls (even if they are the most wonderful animals in this world for my humble person).

There must be very bad witches Trap unsuspecting children in delicious chocolate and candy houses. Y very smart kittens May they, with seven-league boots, get all the riches for their master (and teach the children - and many older ones - what a league is). Or, how can there not be a brave little tailor in times of competition for apprentice seamstresses. And I will always want to be Cinderella to see if a handsome prince one day get me a little shoe that fits me with my bunions. I know of some very fetishists with that of the feet ...

My Favorite Brothers Grimm Tale

Actually, I like them all, but I can highlight one for sentimental reasons: The Wolf and the 7 Little Kids. It is the one that my memory always evokes when I speak of stories. Because I'm going to an already diffuse moment of childhood, which is lost between morning and night, but in which it is very clear the voice of my father, that I changed it according to the little kids or the hoarse wolf telling me about it. Show me your leg through the door, I hear. Then I always imagined that cunning wolf sticking his foot in flour to fool the goats and gobble them up unceremoniously when the very innocent fell into the trap.

The moment was as terrifying as it was fascinating, culminating in more fascination. when the anguished mother kid could remove them from the belly of the wolf, who napped so satisfied after the feast, and exchanged them for stones. And in that ambiguous part that is also had in childhood, the joy for the happy ending was tarnished a bit, unconsciously, by that end always so dire for the wolf. Yes, he had been fierce, liar and evil and he could deserve that ending, but it was always his turn.. That is why now, with age, I have so much affection and admiration for them and I also eat kids with pleasure.

A couple of editions on the tales of the Brothers Grimm

The Grimms collected these folk tales from oral tradition in a work titled Children's and home stories (1812-1822). Over time there are countless modern reissues that have been made with titles such as The fairy tales of the Grimm brothers o Tales of the Grimm brotherseven if they hadn't invented them. But let's say they were 'appropriated' by the way they they respected that freshness and spontaneity of traditional tales and they did not want to rewrite them in a more elaborate or literary way.

To my credit are these two editions:

• The Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Noel daniel. An edition that is a gem with beautiful classic illustrations. I already talked about him in this article.
• Brothers Grimm tales for all ages, Philip Pullman, where this renowned English writer, author of the trilogy Dark matter, chose his fifty favorite Brothers Grimm stories, and tells them in his own way.